Highlights of the communal elections in Luxembourg

With a general shift to the right and a big loss for the left-of-centre Socialist Party, here are some of Luxembourg's communal election highlights.

09.10.2017

The communal election results saw a big loss of seats for the Luxembourgish Socialist Workers Party (LSAP) and a general shift to the right, with rising support for the Christian Social People's Party (CSV).

The following graphic shows the percentage of votes each party got across the country in the proportional communes:

Overall, the CSV is the winner of these elections, with 209 seats this year compared with 169 seats in 2011.

The Greens also improved their score with 77 seats compared with 74 in 2011. The DP (108 seats) and The Left (eight seats) both added one seat compared with 2011.

The LSAP (155 seats) had the most disappointing results, losing 13 seats compared with 2011. The KPL also went from three seats in 2011 to two this year.

The Alternative Democratic Reform Party (adr) kept four seats across the country, and the Pirate Party got three seats.

Support for CSV in Luxembourg City

While the DP remained the top party in Luxembourg City with nine seats – down from 10 in 2011 – the CSV gained two seats, from five to seven, coming in second and just two seats short of the DP.

The current mayor, Lydie Polfer, won the highest number of DP votes within the commune, with 12,653 votes, followed by Simone Beissel with 9,532.

A possible coalition could now see the light of day between the DP and the CSV, after a Greens/DP coalition ruled the capital for the last six years.

LSAP loses 13

Sunday proved to be tragic for the LSAP after falling from 168 seats in the 2011 communal elections to 155 (30.27% to 25.83%).

Speaking to the Wort on Sunday evening as the results were being announced, LSAP MP and top candidate for Luxembourg City Marc Angel said he felt "very sad" and "very disappointed" and thought the party had a "great programme".

He said there was a "turn to the right across the country" and that the "Conservatives have the wind in their sails".

"Good luck to those who will have to take responsibility in the months to come," he added.

"It was a hard day, but one also shouldn't dramatise those results," he said.

DP loses seats in Differdange

In Differdange, the DP lost five seats – the highest number of seats lost by the party across all communes. In 2011, the party won seven seats in the south-western commune, with acting education minister, Claude Meisch, scooping up 5,188 votes.

This year, Meisch's younger brother, François, received 1,855 votes – the highest number for the DP in Differdange.

While the DP dropped from seven seats to two in Differdange, the Green Party went up from three seats in 2011 to seven. The LSAP and the CSV gained four seats each.

Shift to the right in Esch-sur-Alzette

Luxembourg's second-largest city, Esch-sur-Alzette, saw a shift to the right, with the CSV matching the LSAP result, a very symbolic shift in this traditionally left-wing commune.

In 2011, the LSAP won nine seats but this year lost three, taking the party down to six.

The CSV gained six seats, up from four in 2011.

There wasn't much change for the other parties, which won seats within the commune, with the DP gaining one seat, from one to two, the Green Party up from two to three, and Déi Lénk holding onto its two seats.

KPL loses one-third of seats

The KPL previously had three seats – in Esch-sur-Alzette, Differdange and Rumelange.

But Bernard Zénon, who won 901 votes in 2011, lost out in Esch-sur-Alzette.

The party held onto one seat in Differdange, with Ali Ruckert winning 1,248 votes, and in Rumelange, where Jean-Pierre Peiffer gained 551 votes.